Apps to Make Your Instagram Photos Look Better

When it comes to photo sharing, there’s no doubt that Instagram is king. Our favorite photo app basically originated the phrase “double tap,” and has become a measure of social media success. However, even though Instagram has come a long way since its early days of just a few filters to choose from (and who could forget those frames), there’s still lots of ways to increase your Instagram game to expert level. With the help of a few other apps, your ‘grams can look just like those of the hottest social media stars. In case you need help deciding which apps to download from the app store, here are 12 options that will help you get all the likes on Insta:

VSCO

While VSCO also offers its own photo-sharing platform, its best quality is its many filters. The app boasts a strong editor feature where you can crop photos, adjust lighting, fix temperature and tint, add sharpness, and more. Additionally, VSCO offers beautiful filters to add limitless creativity to your Instagram pictures. VSCO is free for both iOS and Android users, but it offers in-app purchases to unlock extra filters.

Afterlight

Afterlight is one of the classic photo-editing apps, and it’s a classic for a reason. The app has 74 filters, 78 textures, and over 100 creative frames that you can add to your photos. Afterlight also offers basic photo-editing tools in addition to its creative options. It’s available on both iOS and Android, and costs $0.99.

Squareready

In its early days, Instagram would only let you post photos in cropped squares, and Squareready was the answer to keeping your entire photo intact without cropping. While Instagram now lets you post vertical and horizontal photos, they still show up as cropped squares on your page, and it’s hard to control what that particular cropped image looks like. Squareready gives you full control over your full-size image, and allows you to pick the color that appears in the white space within the square. It’s available on both iOS and Android, and it is free.

Capcam

There are endless options for photo collages out there in the App Store. Instagram even created their own version, called Layout. Capcam is another photo collage app, but it also allows you to add typography to your collages. Their website boasts a slogan, “Sharing photos is good. Sharing stories is better.” Capcam is available on iOS for $0.99.

Camera Noir

Camera Noir’s description in the App Store explains that it is “built for professional photographers but easy enough for amateurs.” This app helps you create beautiful and artistic black-and-white photos, and it has capabilities comparable to Photoshop and Lightroom. Camera Noir is available for iOS and costs $2.99.

Magic Hour

Photographers and filmmakers know the phrase “magic hour” to mean the period of time directly before sunset or after sunrise when the sky’s light is very soft, giving the perfect opportunity for photography or film. The app Magic Hour aims to create that same effect, through the use of filters. In addition to the pre-loaded filters, you can also create your own filters and save them to use later. Magic Hour is free on iOS and Android.

Bokehful

“Bokeh” is the word used to describe that blurry effect of the out-of-focus part of a photo. When that part of a photograph contains lights, it looks really pretty. The Bokehful app allows you to add that light to your photos without the use of a professional camera. You can download it for iOS for $0.99.

MuseCam

MuseCam is the app that all professional photographers should have on their iPhones. It works with your iPhone’s camera and allows you to create custom exposure, change the ISO settings, and gain control of the white balance. Additionally, the app comes with a fully equipped photo editor, where you can adjust curves, tone, levels, and color. It is available for free on iOS.

Pixelmator

Pixelmator began as a Mac-based image-editing software, and is now available as an app as well. The app comes with a huge array of photo-editing tools, allowing you to take your photos to a seriously professional level. It is a little more expensive than some other apps, but definitely worth it. Pixelmator is available on iOS for $4.99.

Dubsmash

If you haven’t tried out Dubsmash, you need to do so immediately. This video app allows you to record yourself singing your favorite songs, or reciting your favorite lines from movies and TV. The app gained popularity last spring, and even celebs like Cara Delevingne got in on the action. You can download Dubsmash for free on both iOS and Android.

BitCam

For those who live for #ThrowbackThursday, BitCam is the app for you. This app allows you to take photos and make them look like they were taken in the ‘90s. Photos that you run through the BitCam app will come out in black-and-white with that grainy effect that could only come from a circa-1996 camera. Download BitCam for free on iOS for your next #TBT post.

SNOW

Hey, Snapchat lovers — we found your new favorite app. SNOW is an app for elevated selfie-taking. The app lets you take selfies with endless amounts of filters and stickers. If you can’t get enough of that cute dog filter on Snapchat, there’s plenty of comparable filters on SNOW. You can download SNOW for free on both iOS and Android.